Al Mamşūrah

It was a rainy day, and the plans to walk the Sea of Galilee, rent a boat, and see other places where Jesus likely walked and performed miracles was thwarted by endless cycles of heavy rain. But even as we tried getting near the places that were said to be these significant points in our Lord's life, there were fees and elaborated buildings built on the sites, which makes it feel very un-authentic. The rain was a blessing as it pushed us out of focusing on what man has set up as some type of shrine to seeing more of Israel's history and meeting people in their environments and learn more about the culture here and think about why Jesus decided to come to live in Capernaum.
We ventured up to Golan Heights because I was in search of an olive product producer 🫒🤤 As we drove there we saw many tanks and mine fields which peaked Jesse's curiosity and interest! After stocking up in olive product we went to the Valley of Tears - the largest tank battle in history. We got to climb on tanks left for a memorial and explore the trenches still there. I believe this was a miracle - the odds were so extremely against Israel but they came out ahead.
It started heavily raining again so we went to eat at a really interesting resort where someone did massive metal work. We also learned of a local hot spot.... literally hot! Natural hot springs!! Such a welcome warm on a rainy day!!
Then we went back down to Capernaum and got to sit and imagine Jesus meeting the fishermen and saying 'follow me' and they, dropping everything, and following Him!Read more